From The Jerusalem Post
by Sam Sokol
Jewish and Muslim ritual slaughter will be illegal in Denmark starting on Monday, by order of Agriculture and Food Minister Dan Jørgensen.
Ritual slaughter, known in Hebrew as shechita, is already banned in Poland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
The Netherlands attempted to ban shechita, but a deal was brokered, legalizing the practice in 2012.
On Monday, all slaughter that is not preceded by stunning will be forbidden in Denmark, rendering it impossible for ritual slaughter to be carried out according to Shar’ia or Halacha, Danish station TV2 reported on Wednesday.
“Animal rights come before religion,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Slaughterhouses will no longer be able to apply for an exemption from pre-stunning.
While Denmark’s 6,000 Jews currently do not practice shechita, instead importing kosher meat from abroad, the ruling does affect the country’s Muslim minority.
